Was a real mixed bag for, excellent going forward but defensively looked weak. Capoue and Dembele did not put enough pressure on their midfield but linked very well - their performance typified our strength and weaknesses.

Lamela comes close for me, but despite the hat trick Kane put in a great performance from the 10 spot. Settled the ball well and quickly got his head up and made some decent dispersals. Kane gets the nod for me for a more complete performance, but Lamela did score an absolutely wonderful goal today. Kane's first goal outright quality as well.

A 5-0 (yeah, I'm calling it as a 5-0) that for large parts didn't really seem that way. We strolled it, had moments of (extreme) individual quality that racked up the goals. In between play was easy enough on the eye but a bit patchy, and defensively we were diving in and making things a bit easy for them. And kept getting caught by the ball over the top, could have conceded far earlier and in less farcical circumstances than we did.

Kane was the best of the bunch. Showed a good all-round game, very much a '9.5' position wise in my opinion.

Lamela for his two goals, especially the first, stole the show and will be remembered for years but the commentator made a good point - when he's playing on instinct you see the obvious tekkers and talent. When he has time and space is where his decision making needs to improve in the coming weeks/months/years.

Capoue at times showed his class. Dembele had a comfortable game for the most part. Both at times didn't protect the back four very well but they were strolling it for the 90 mins.

Townsend was ok and worked hard, as was Adebayor when the ball was played into his feet. He needs a goal though and doesn't look like he is playing with confidence.

The back four as a unit were all below average in my opinion. Fazio worries me, he has no idea what's going on around him when the ball is played over the top. Davies and Dier had issues at times with this also, and even Vertonghen got dragged down by it all it seemed. I can see why Poch was annoyed, we really do have to put in hard work and get it better, no matter who is lining up in defence.

Kane and Lamela, both did virtually all that could be hoped for and more. I'm really happy with and for them, and I honestly don't think there's a good reason to select one over the other for MOTM.

Dier did well, as did Dembele and Capoue.

The rest were OK but no more. Hugo will do that sometimes, it's part and parcel of his lightning-quick dash off the line style, but as long as he makes saves like he does, and keeps us in games single-handedly as he does, we have to accept the occasional cock-up. It's a small price to pay for one of the world's three best keepers.

Townsend, whilst certainly not the worst player I've ever seen by a long way, continues to be just about the most frustrating player I've ever seen. He just makes so many wrong decisions when you know that he has the ability to do something better with the ball. But I still like him, in a way. Off the bench though, not as a starter.

Well that game really had everything, toss up between Erik and Harry for MOM, think I will give it to Erik tho. Great to see him slowly coming into his own, again, not everything he tries comes off but there is enough evidence to suggest that one day it will... And when that day comes the whole world will stand up and Madrid will be a knocking.

As for the rest of the team, a bit of a mixed bag, thought the middle two did a good job, Capoue especially with some of his passing, I thought Andros was poor and completely eclipsed by Lamela and Ade really better not be starting against Newcastle. As much as many will demand Kane be brought into the PL, I think it's wise for Poch to keep him in and the EL, he is young and making the most of weak defending. Plenty of time in the future to move into the PL. As for our defence, really worrying, considering Fazio and Jan were my ideal middle two that performance made me extremely nervous. As for Davies, he still has a long way to go before he can really challenge Rose for a PL start and Dier is still very young and not a RB so did as well as can be expected. A good performance on the whole but I can understand why Poch was not happy, could easily have been 5-3 or even 5-4.

Was Adebayor involved much? I haven't seen the game but all of the plaudits are going to other players. It was a chance for him to fill his boots- I hope Soldado is back at the weekend or else I'm sure he'll be out in January (Loaned or sold)

Poor - Davies, Dier, Verts, Fazio. As a unit they weren't good enough, allowing the Greeks several excellent chances. Even Poch highlighted our defensive failures, over shadowing a good victory, but certainly not comfortable despite the scoreline. As a partial defence, playing 442 with Lamela who's attack minded and Townsend who was largely anonymous, did leave them with little cover. It was nice to see the team score 5 but we should have binned the ineffective Townsend and Adebayor earlier and brought on another central midfielder to help shore up our fragile defence.

Sometimes we play quite well or match our opponent in general play but just come up against a team that has more individual quality and this tells. ManCity was a bit like that. The Greeks were a tidy little outfit, well coached and if truth be told had some good situations that they fucked up. It wasn't that we played bad, we had some really good phases and some really nice passages of play. But ultimately it was moments of individual superiority that told.

Lets start with Lamela. The goals were superbly taken, one of them outrageously cheeky, but what I still like most is that 2 minutes after scoring he's back in our half, chasing back and flying full blooded into a tackle to win the ball back. His second goal came from him diving into a challenge that could have got him hurt to win the ball for Kane. This kid has plenty of learning to do. His decision making needs to become more reliable, but at the same time you do not want to completely restrain his natural unpredictable flare either. For me, even in this still raw, unrefined state, he's delivering so much more than the likes of Lennon ever could. Not only did he score a couple of crackers, he also played in Adebayor, made 50 passes with a 90% success rate, put in tackles and generally worked his nuts off with and without the ball. For me, he's more than earning the right to make the mistakes he does, because he's bringing a much needed dimension to this side.

You can't help but like Kane. He's like a Dawson/Sheringham hybrid. Half dopey, half clever. Great night for the kid, worked hard, scored a varied hat trick and went between the sticks too.

Both he and Lamela were great, but my MOTM tonight was Capoue. He absolutely bossed this game. He was everywhere. Spreading the ball right and left, left footed and right footed, long & short, driving us forward, anyone lamenting Hudd's passing is a fucking fruit loop. In all his years at this club he never once took a game by the bollocks - even against opposition of this standard - like Capoue did this game. 74 passes 92% completion, and the full gamut on show, and if Adebayor wasn't so habitually offside he might have had an assist and a goal to boot.

The consternation on Pochetino's face is possibly due to the fact that our willingness to attack in numbers, combined with a highish line, left us a little vulnerable at times and but for wastefulness or last ditch defending or outstanding keeping might have seen the scoreline looking a little bit narrower. I'm not entirely sure whether the defenders were to blame for any of the problems, I think Dier played their guy onside that led to the sending off, or whether it was everyone else leaving them exposed at times or not preventing those killer passes.

I thought some of the selections tonight were questionable (I'm relieved Lloris is suspended and won't have to play for a couple of games in the Europa), Vertonghen & Capoue should have been saved for the weekend and why are we risking throwing on Eriksen & Chadli into a game well and truly won ?

Work is still in progress, but sometimes, just sometimes, it's fun to watch that process.

Not for MoPo though I guess.

Individual stuff:

Lloris - Outstanding.

Dier - Bit Iffy but generally OK.

Fazio - pretty OK. Great ball for Kane's third.

Vertonghen - Generally OK I thought.

Davies - Pretty decent game

Capoue - Outstanding performance. Great examples were the passes he made just before and just after half time. Has that picture in his head and just sweeps the ball out to the flanks, one with either foot, whilst under pressure. Was busy and productive. Orchestrating most of our play.

Dembele - Was pretty good in spells, but hangs on to the ball too long in midfield. Much prefer to see him dribbling further forward. If he's to stay, it should as an attacking midfielder.

Townsend - The first 20 minutes every final ball he seemed to make he just got wrong, misplaced, over kicked etc. He settled and got better but there is still a distinct lack of actual quality end product in much of what he does. You'd forgive him shooting so much if he hit the target more maybe. Although both he and Lamela can be erratic, with Townsend you don't get the promise of pay off occasionally that you do with Lamela, you don't get the work rate off the ball, the game play and tackling too. I think his second shot in quick succession second half sums him up, he had the chance to get his head up and play a through ball to Adebayor. But didn't. He just blasted wide. Again.

Kane - Great game in general. Worked hard - especially first half - and scored a diverse hat trick.

Lamela - See above. He's clearly got some learning to do, but what he produces in terms of creative spark, work rate when we have and don't have the ball and his tenacity with and without the ball makes him well worth his place.

Adebayor - I thought he was a passenger first half. He just looked mentally a shadow of his best self. I think he was much more involved second half and made some good moves. The pairing with Kane never seems to work for me, they want to do similar things in similar places. Seems to work much better for Kane than it does Adebayor.

Useful Searches

About Us

Welcome to Spurs Community - the place for Spurs fans to chat about the team we love. Or anything else for that matter.

Spurs Community is the largest online forum for Tottenham Hotspur fans from around the world. Whether you're coming to find out team news, chat with friends for a while, or want to read the latest ITK (we cover all ITK relating to Spurs in one handy place), SC welcomes you.